Tax Reform

Americans are frustrated over our nation’s current tax system, and I very much share their concerns. The current tax code is cumbersome and confusing – it’s estimated that American taxpayers spend over seven billion hours a year trying to comply with the current filing requirements. Our tax code is ridden with loopholes and unnecessary complexity that discourages saving and investing.

Each year taxpayers scan through 60,000 pages of forms and make difficult decisions between numerous calculations, tax credits and deductions. We must simplify our tax code and cut the red tape to ensure a fair tax system for Americans. As such, I’m in favor of reforming the current tax code and implementing a tax system that is simpler, fairer and has lower tax rates.

House Republicans support comprehensive tax reform to get Americans working again and our economy back on track. Independent economists estimate that, when coupled with reduced federal spending, comprehensive tax reform could lead to the creation of 1 million jobs in the first year alone.

Some citizens feel we need to ask wealthier Americans to pay more in taxes; yet in January before I began my service in Congress, President Obama signed into law a $650 billion tax increase over the next decade, much of it directed at higher earners. Likewise, the President’s health care law increases taxes by more than $500 billion – again, much of it aimed at businesses and high-income earners.

In 2013, the federal government brought in more revenue via taxes than any year in the history of our country, and yet we still have a nearly $700 billion budget deficit. We don’t have a revenue problem – we have a spending problem.

By bringing a common sense approach to government, I’ll fight hard to simplify the tax code for working families and job creators. Taxpayers are in the best possible position to determine how to spend their own money, not bureaucrats in Washington. Tax revenue is generated by ensuring people are working and profitable – not from continuing to raise tax rates.

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